Belmont Park: Readtheprospectus and Alvarado team up to win Commentator

ELMONT, N.Y. - Readtheprospectus gave jockey Junior Alvarado his third stakes win on Saturday’s New York Showcase program at Belmont, with a 1 1/4-length victory over the late-running So Scott in the $150,000 Commentator Stakes. The win was also the second on the card for trainer Chad Brown, who earlier captured the Mount Vernon with Shakeira.

Alvarado’s previous winners on Saturday came aboard Saginaw in the Affirmed Success and Amberjack in the Mike Lee.

The victory was the sixth in a row for Readtheprospectus, a son of Read the Footnotes, and came in his first start against stakes competition.

Alvarado rated Readtheprospectus just off the early pace of longshot Fox Rules, who posted splits of 23.64 and 46.71 for the opening quarter- and half-mile of the 1 1/16-mile Commentator. Alvarado sent Readtheprospectus up three wide to challenge for the lead along with Spa City Fever midway on the turn. The pair battled through the furlong grounds, at which point Readtheprospectus asserted his superiority and edged away. So Scott finished best of all to be second, two lengths in front of the tiring Spa City Fever.

Readtheprospectus covered the distance in 1:41.17 and paid $4.70 as the choice in a field of six older New York-breds.

“What a pleasant surprise he has been,” said Brown. “We started experimenting with him after his first couple of starts and learned it was more about the distance than the surface. Here’s a horse who wants to run all day. He’s not crazy about one turn, but he did it great today.”